Sportswriter Drew Ellis examines the rivalry between Michigan State and U-of-Michigan. Impartial to both, he will judge who is a step ahead or behind both on the football field and on the basketball court. Join in on the debate and follow him on Twitter @ellisdrew

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

News and notes from Dantonio's weekly press conference

MichiganState coach Mark Dantonio held his weekly press
conference on Tuesday from East
Lansing. Here are a few news and notes from what he
had to say.

- Dion Sims is not listed on the depth chart again this
week. Paul Lang, Andrew Gleichert and Derek Hoebing are all listed as possible
starters at tight end. Dantonio said they will know more this week about Sims’ status
but he has yet to practice.

- Aaron Burbridge, Tony Lippett and Keith Mumphrey are
listed as the starting receivers this week.

- Kurtis Drummond to be the starter at free safety. Isaiah
Lewis will start at strong safety along with Johnny Adams and Darqueze Dennard
at cornerback.

- Dantonio called this a big rivalry game (obviously), and
that it is good for his football program and for the team to go into a great
environment like Ann Arbor
on Saturday.

- He called the game a pivotal one regardless of records. Dantonio
said a win is a win, it would be a big win for MSU. Beating Michigan five straight hasn’t been done
before, so it would be special. He also added that you keep track of the
rivalry games the rest of your life.

- When asked about the lack of fans at Saturday’s game,
Dantonio said he was more concerned about the ones that show and he appreciates
their support. Said it’s a fickle society and there is a lot going on in people’s
worlds. Football is not the end game for a lot of people, but he’s sure it will
be this week.

- Dantonio acknowledges that MSU needs help to get to the
Big Ten Championship Game. He said that help usually does come and that there
is a lot of parity in the conference. He just wants to focus on one game at a
time and focus on the present. If they take care of their business they have
opportunities in front of them.

- When asked why he approaches the rivalry the way he does,
Dantonio said that people view things differently. His coaching background
brought him to MSU in 1995 and he experienced things back then that shaped that.
He said he has never made the rules, just plays the game. These rules were
established a long time ago, he is just playing the game.

- Dantonio said he has great respect for Brady Hoke, feels
that Hoke handles himself better than Dantonio does. Dantonio just goes about
his job and hopes “that other guy” doesn’t show up at the press conference
(referring to the “next question” guy). Feels Hoke maintains his composure
well.

- Dantonio said that you can’t divide the team in terms of
offense and defense. MSU is not getting it done as a team. Can’t just blame the
offense or the defense.

- Dantonio said that Denard Robinson is a tremendous
football player. He is the central theme to what MSU has done defensively. A
lot of things that MSU does on defense center around quarterbacks like Robinson
and Braxton Miller. They can take a bad play and make it into a good play. The
Spartans need to know where he is at all times. Dantonio said that Robinson has
been a great player at Michigan
and will be remembered as that.

- Dantonio said that William Gholston has grown from last
year’s situation in the Michigan
game, said he needs to. Dantonio said Gholston has a lot of people watching him
on a daily basis on and off the field, and he needs to handle himself
accordingly. He will come ready to play on Saturday.

- Dantonio thinks Michigan
is “back”. He feels MSU will continue to win and be a leader in this
conference. He looks forward to competing against Michigan yearly.

- No player availability for the media this week for MSU to
avoid bulletin board material this week.

- When asked why he was staying so humble and calm about Michigan, Dantonio said
that the media hasn’t stoked his fire yet.

- When asked about recruiting against Michigan, Dantonio feels that kids are green
or kids are blue by the time they are 14 in this state, maybe 10. Says it can
be a hard to swing a kid in recruiting in this state if they have grown up a
fan of the other team.

- Dantonio attributed the weather and Iowa defense to some of Andrew Maxwell’s
struggles on Saturday. He said they had their issues as well with details and
execution.

- Called the end of the first half against Iowa a missed opportunity that was one of
many in the game that could have led to a different result. Said he now thinks
of it as a long kick into the win and the rain, but they still couldn’t take
that opportunity for granted.

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About Me

I work for The Oakland Press as a sports writer and copy editor. I cover college football along with some prep sports. I spent six years covering Central Michigan University football, men's basketball, and baseball for The Morning Sun in Mt. Pleasant.